Compressed Data; Electronic Surveillance Spies a Perfect Gift

By DAVID F. GALLAGHER

Published: February 10, 2003

When Richard Gingras first saw the initial logo for the Defense Department's controversial Information Awareness Office, he wasn't sure it was real.

The logo featured a pyramid with an all-seeing eye, like the one on the back of the dollar bill, scanning the earth with a beam of light. Underneath was a Latin motto, ''Scientia est potentia'' -- knowledge is power. The Pentagon scrapped the logo after critics derided its Orwellian imagery.

''You could get the best satirists working in American humor, and I'm not sure they could come up with anything better than that,'' said Mr. Gingras, a longtime Silicon Valley executive who has worked at Excite@Home and Apple. ''I knew there just had to be a gift shop in this.''

And so there was. Last week Mr. Gingras uploaded a copy of the logo to CafePress.com, a service that lets users create online stores selling items imprinted with digital images. He was soon offering a range of Information Awareness products (www.cafepress.com/totalawareness). Information Awareness coffee mugs, T-shirts and thongs have been the early best sellers, he said.

Mr. Gingras said he would send all proceeds -- $170 through last Friday -- to the American Civil Liberties Union, which has criticized the Information Awareness Office and its plans to thwart terrorism through an electronic surveillance system that civil libertarians worry could be used for spying on ordinary citizens.

Mr. Gingras said he was not sure how he would respond if he heard from the Defense Department about using the logo. ''It depends on what they're objecting to,'' he said, ''and how scared I am at the moment.''

Jan Walker, a spokeswoman for the Information Awareness Office, said her bosses were aware of Mr. Gingras's effort, ''but I don't think it's something that warrants a comment from the government.'' DAVID F. GALLAGHER

Photo: Information Awareness T-shirts and thongs have been best sellers.